first edition
1931
by VER, Moï (Moshé Raviv-Vorobeichic)
Paris: Éditions Jeanne Walter, 1931. Trace foxing to the top edge of textblock, else a beautiful, close to fine copy. In plain wrappers, enclosed by the distinctive French-fold jacket that boasts the masterful superimposition of smokestacks over stone colonnade; also close to fine. Housed in custom cloth slipcase with a matching lettered chemise. A memorable copy of this consensus high-spot.. First Edition. Quarto. Number 682 of 1000 press-numbered copies. Simultaneously one of the greatest avant-garde photobooks and one of the most insightful Parisian paeans; Parr & Badger remark on the absolute gulf that stands between the dynamism of Moï Ver's Paris-with its complex photomontage techniques and kinetic layout-and the conservative stillness of Atget, whose monograph on the city was published, remarkably, only one year prior. Introduced with text from Fernand Léger. (Roth 70-71; Parr / Badger, v1, 128-129).
(Inventory #: 30236)